Pump cylinder closing means



Oct. 11, 1966 R. A. PANGBURN 3,277,837

PUMP CYLINDER CLOSING MEANS Filed Dec. 21, 1964 FIG. a

RAYMOND A. FANG BU RN INVENTOR.

United States Patent s,277,s37 PUMP CYLINDER CLOSING MEANS Raymond A. Pangbnrn, R0. Box 94364, Uklahorna City, Okla. Filed Dec. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 420,082 3 Claims. (Cl. 103-216) The present invention relates to pumps and more particularly to an improvement in a cylinder and valve pot closing means for slush pumps.

The present invention is an improvement over my three copending applications for Slush Pump Valve Cover, filed July 17, 1964, Ser. No. 383,459, August 12, 1964, Ser. No. 389,003 and September 3, 1964, Ser. No. 394,267.

Slush pumps of relatively large capacity are conventional equipment in oil well drilling and are used for circulating the drilling fluid. These pumps have generally cylindrical shaped upwardly open intake and exhaust fluid transferring bodies, commonly called valve pots which are respectively equipped with fluid intake and exhaust valves. The valve pots must be provided with means permitting access to the valve therein to service the valve. To accomplish this a cap or cover is usually provided at the upwardly disposed end of each valve pot which is usually attached to the valve pot by a plurality of stud bolts or bolts and nuts. A recent improvement comprises a ring or disk-like cap which is threadedly secured to the valve pot by a single threaded member. This single member frequently works loose during operation of the pump resulting in malfunction of the associated valve. Furthermore, the type of cover in which a plurality of bolts holds the cover in place, requires considerable time to remove and replace each cap or cover resulting in extensive shut down time.

The valve pots are in fluid communication with the respective pump cylinders, the latter, each having a reciprocating piston. The slush pump cylinder is similarly closed at the head end of the pump by a bolted on cap which employes a central threaded stud bolt engageable with a plug or head in turn engaging a liner spool for holding the cylinder liner in place and spreading packing into sealing relation with the wall of the cylinder. The liner and liner spool packing becomes compressed during operation of the pump permitting longitudinal movement of the liner spool and liner in response to the reciprocating action of the pump piston resulting in excessive wear of the mating parts.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the invention to provide an improved valve pot and cylinder closing means for a slush pump which may be quickly and easily assembled and removed to service the pump.

A similarly important object is to provide cylindrical opening closure members for a pump forming a pressure chamber communicating with the fluid moved under pressure by the pump piston for holding the closure members in sealing relation with respect to the Wall of the respective cylindrical opening.

Another object is to provide valve pot and piston cylinder opening covers or plugs which employes a single shaft engaging segmental lever members which are fulcrumed against the respective cover and cylindrical wall for closing the opening in a novel manner.

Still another object is to provide a device of this class which may be connected with existing slush pump valve pots and piston cylinder openings without extensive modification thereof or which may be incorporated in the design of slush pumps to be manufactured.

The present invention accomplishes these and other objects by providing means at the open end of slush pump cylindrical openings for engaging and holding segmental lever members fulcrumed against a closure member.

3,277,837 Patented Oct. 11, 1966 Other objects will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying single sheet of drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view through the head end portion of a slush pump cylinder and valve pot incorporating the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view, to a larger scale, of the valve pot cover, per se.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral 10 indicates a fragment of the fluid end of a conventional slush pump having a body 12, a piston cylinder 14 surrounding a cylinder liner 16 within which a piston 18 is reciprocated. The body 12 is provided with an enlarged head-end opening 20 coaxial with respect to the cylinder 14 and intersected by a valve pot opening 22. Packing 17, interposed between a flange 19 on the liner 16 and the body 12, seals the liner with the adjacent wall of the opening 20. The liner 16 is held in place within the cylinder 14 by a cage-like liner spool 24 having an inner end portion 25 surrounding the adjacent end portion of the liner and disposed against the liner flange 19. Packing 26 surrounds the normally closed head end portion 27 of the liner spool 24 and seals with the inner wall surface of the cylinder head opening 20 opposite the liner. The liner spool 24 is provided with lateral openings 28 which provide communication be tween the bore of the liner 16, liner spool 24 and the bore forming the valve pot opening.

The valve pot opening 22 receive a valve seat 29 closed by a spring urged valve 30 engaging a valve plug or cover 32 to be presently described. The above components, numbered 10 through 32, are conventional equipment for the fluid end of slush pumps and are set forth to illustrate the type of pump with which the present invention is used.

In carrying out the invention the cylinder cap, not shown, is removed and is replaced by a cylindrical walled ring 40 surrounding the opening 20 and connected to the pump head end, as by welding 41. The ring 40 is counterbored, as at 42, from its inwardly disposed end, forming an annular inwardly directed shoulder 44. A cylindrical head or plug 46 is closely received coaxial-1y by the outer end portion of the cylinder head-end opening 20 and contacts, at its inner end surface, the outer end surface of the liner spool. The plug 46 is provided with an annular outer groove for the reception of pack- .ing 48 in sealing relation with the wall of the opening 20.

A packing spreader 49 is interposed between the packing 26 and 48. The inwardly disposed end of the plug 46 is provided with a counterbore or recess forming a pressure chamber 50. A centrally bored externally threaded stem or shaft 52 is threadedly connected coaxially with the outer end portion of the plug 46 and is provided at its free end portion with a grease gun fitting or valve 54 for the purposes presently explained.

A plurality of segmental Wedge or lever members 56 surrounds the shaft 52, Each of the segments 56 have one outer arcuate end surface cooperatingly engaged with the annular shoulder 44 and an opposite arcuate end portion 58 positioned in surrounding spaced relation with respect to the shaft 52. The segments 56 further have an edge surface 60, substantially opposite their end surface engaged by the shoulder 44, in contact with the outer end surface of the plug 46, forming a fulcrum point. A contact sleeve or ring 62, T-shaped in cross section, as shown in FIG. 1, slidably surrounds the shaft 52 between the shaft 52 and end surfaces of the segment end portions 58 and in overlapping relation with respect to the latter. A nut 64 is threadedly engaged with the free end portion of the shaft 52 which forces the contact ring against the adjacent end portions 58 of the segmental members to fulcrum the latter, in cooperation with the shoulder 44, against the plug 46 which in turn forces the liner spool 24 against the liner 16.

The outwardly disposed end portion 27 of the liner spool 24 is centrally bored, as at 66, and counterbored, from each end, to form a valve seat 68 facing toward the plug 46 for receiving a spring urged check valve 70 for opening and closing the bore 66 for the reasons hereinafter explained.

Similarly, the valve pot inner wall is counterbored, adjacent its outer end, as at 80, to form an inwardly directed annular shoulder 82 which receives similarly formed segmental lever members 84 held in place and urged toward the valve pot cover 32 by a threaded shaft 86 coaxially connected to the cover 32 and a contact member 88 by a shaft nut 90. Packing 91, interposed between a flange on the cover 32 and an annular shoulder formed on the wall of the valve pot opening 22, seals the cover 32 fluidtight. The shaft 86 is similarly centrally bored, from its outer end, and provided, at its other end, with a grease gun fitting 54. The inner end portion of the shaft 86 is provided with a lateral bore 92 communicating with a bore 94 extending longitudinally through the cover 32 in off-set relation with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft 86. A counterbored plate 96 surrounds the shaft 86 in contact with a cooperating surface formed on the outer surface of the valve pot cover 32 thus forming a transversely divided plug for the valve pot opening. Packing 97 seals the plate 96 with the shaft 86 and cover 32. The outer end portion of the valve pot cover 32 is recessed, around the shaft 86, to form a pressure chamber 98 in communication with the bores 92 and 94 for the purposes presently explained. Counterbores are similarly formed in the valve pot cover member 32 from each end of the bore 94 to form a valve seat 100 for receiving a similar spring urged check valve 102.

Operation In operation the invention is installed in the slush pump cylinder and valve pot openings as described hereinabove. When the slush pump is placed in operation, the reciprocating piston 18 forces fluid through the bore 66, normally closed by the valve 70, to fill the chamber 50 and build up a fluid pressure within the chamber 50 equal with respect to the pressure of the fluid being pumped from the pump intake, not shown, through the valve 30. When the piston 18 moves in the opposite direction, the fluid is trapped under pressure within the chamber 50 by the valve 70 which maintains the liner spool 24 in contact with the liner 16. Similarly, fluid pumped through the valve 30 and through the valve cover bore 94, normally 4 closed by the valve 102, fills the chamber 98 which similarly maintains the valve cover 32 in sealing contact with the wall forming the valve pot opening.

Alternatively a grease gun, not shown, may be connected with the grease fittings 54 to fill the pressure chambers 50 and 98 with a desired quantity of grease under pressure which is trapped by the valves and 102 to maintain, respectively, the liner spool 24 in place against the liner 16 and to hold the valve pot cover 32 in fluidtight position. The respective cylinder closing components may be removed by reversing the installation steps by first releasing fluid or grease pressure from the respective pressure chambers by opening the grease gun fittings 54.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to some change or alteration without defeating its practicability, and I therefore do not wish to be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and described herein, further than I am limited by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a pump having a body, a cylinder opening outwardly of said body, a liner in said cylinder, a liner spool bearing against said liner, the combination of: a cylindrical plug closely received by the outwardly open end portion of said cylinder; a ring secured to said body coaxial with respect to said cylinder, said ring having an inwardly directed annular shoulder; a shaft coaxially secured to and projecting outwardly from said plug; a plurality of segmental lever members within said ring; said segmental lever members having an arcuate end portion surrounding said shaft and having an opposite arcuate end portion contacting said annular shoulder, said segmental lever members each having an opposite edge surface contacting the adjacent surface of said plug; and a nut threadedly engaged with said shaft for fulcruming, in cooperation with said annular shoulder, said segmental lever members against said plug.

2. Structure as specified in claim 1 in which the end portion of said liner spool adjacent said plug is centrally bored and provided with a valve seat facing said plug; a check valve seated on said valve seat, said plug having a recess formed in its inwardly disposed end portion form ing a pressure chamber communicating with said check valve.

3. Structure as specified in claim 2 in which said shaft is centrally :bored for communication with said pressure chamber; and a valve connected with the free end of said shaft.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 612,050 10/1898 Morse. 2,943,895 7/1960 Miller 103216X ROBERT M. WALKER, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A PUMP HAVING A BODY, A CLYINDER OPENING OUTWARDLY OF SAID BODY, A LINER IN SAID CYLINDER, A LINER SPOOL BEARING AGAINST SAID LINER, THE COMBINATION OF: A CYLINDIRCAL PLUG CLOSELY RECEIVED BY THE OUTWARDLY OPEN END PORTION OF SAID CYLINDER; A RING SECURED TO SAID BODY COAXIAL WITH RESPECT TO SAID CYLINDER, SAID RING HAVING AN INWARDLY DIRECTED ANNULAR SHOULDER; A SHAFT COAXIALLY SECURED TO AND PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID PLUG; A PLURALITY OF SEGMENTAL LEVER MEMBERS WITHIN SAID RING; SAID SEGMENTAL LEVER MEMEBERS HAVING AN ARCUATE END PORTION SURROUNDING SAID SHAFT AND HAVING AN OPPOSITE ARCUATE END PORTION CONTACTING SAID ANNULAR SHOULDER, SAID SEGMENTAL LEBER MEMBERS EACH HAVING AN OPPOSITE EDGE SURFACE CONTACTING THE ADJACENT SURFACE OF SAID PLUG; AND A NUT THREADEDLY ENGAGED WITH SAID SHFAT FOR FULCRUMING, IN COOPERATION WITH SAID ANNULAR SHOULDER, SAID SEGMENTAL LEVER MEMBERS AGAINST SAID PLUG. 